.

Life with a high schooler, a soon to be middle schooler, a toddler, and an awesome husband of sixteen years. Living in Texas with my heart in Cali, my home then, now, & always will be. No, those aren't my wedding photos. They are our ten year renewal photos.

Monday, November 21, 2011

and may you be surrounded with the ones you love this and every Thanksgiving.

This year we are celebrating at my nephew's and new niece's bed and breakfast that they run in the hill country. So many changes this year, mostly me turning 30 and going thru a couple rough relationship patches with friends and realizing people aren't all they're cracked up to be, have me looking at this year a bit different. A bit more somberly, sadly. As I saw the other day, "At some point you have to realize that some people can stay in your heart, but not in your life."

On the upside, I have not ever been more satisfied and fulfilled with my family and my amazing husband, and the truly amazing friends that I have realized are true friends. While the boys are growing up, I'm ready to have another. I'm ready to start a new life somewhere, once again. Not in a runaway fashion this time. As a new adventure.

Have a beautiful Thanksgiving! I am grateful for each and every one of you in my life!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Although it took awhile for me to jump on the pinterest bandwagon as I've been a member for quite awhile, after attending Allison and her Mr. Architect's wedding celebration Saturday, I realized I've fallen head over heels with pinterest. Before we even left for her celebration Saturday afternoon, I twisted my bangs from a pin - a picture that you save onto your virtual corkboard at pinterest. That particular pin, I can't quite find the right pin to show you. But, then, on the drive up to her place I looked up pins that I'd crazily gone pinning on the evening before and did my smokey gray eye makeup in the car by looking up a pin on Brando's iPhone.

Once we got to the friend's house we were staying at, Mere's, I tied a bow in my trench coat from another pin.

And I got no end of compliments on all of my pins and my dress too (thanks, Brando), which made me laugh. Thanks, girls. And since I'm one to give credit where credit is due, I had to share with all you.

My philosophy for pinning? Don't pin it if it isn't beautiful and makes my heart stir. I inadvertently learned this from Alicia at Crowley Party whose pins I absolutely adore - every single one of them. And, now, I love looking at my own pins and sighing a sigh of happiness. My DIY list, is long including this gorgeous picnic bench with built in wine cooler by replacing a plank with a gutter,

my Fashion list is full of fashion inspiration including this glamorous 60s inspiration,

my Inspire list is full of romantic couples having the time of their lives - times I love to have with Brando,

sweet settings full of magical whimsy like these glowing lanterns mixed with wisteria perfect for a garden setting party,

sweet quotes that remind me how grateful I am for the people in my life,

quotes to motivate that jump-start me into doing what I want to do,

and picture ops that are perfectly serene to recreate through the lens another day.

my Decor list is for one day down the road when I kick my booty into gear and actually decorate my home beyond what it is including this kitchen with it's gentle wooden island that I could just imagine walking into and sitting down at the counter to have a conversation with a friend right now,

my Travel list is almost too much to take in at once and that's just how I want to take in each and every one of those places to visit - one at a time including these gorgeous Blue Caves in Greece,

my Delish list is full of yummy, mostly healthy goodness including these delicious looking peach strawberry vodka popsicles perfect for a hot summer day or a cuddle up winter day where you want to imagine the taste of summer,

and my Seasons list is full of the upcoming season of goodness including so many winter wonderlands that make you want to walk right in and be completely enveloped in all that is the winter holidays.

The moment I truly fell head over heels was when I realized that I
could click 'Everything' and look at everybody's pins, not just the
people that I followed. Now, my pins are a combination of everything I
like, not just what they like, although it still includes a lot of that
as well. I compare it to shopping it with your girlfriends, or exploring
their homes and everything they like, which is just as much fun. My
pins are a reflection of everything that I love and everything I see
from others that I love.

In pinterest you can categorize all your separate cork
boards by titles. I shamelessly borrowed the cutesy titles of a fellow
pinner, whose name I wish I could remember. They were so simple,
descriptive, and perfect, though, and included everything I wanted to
pin.